Shopify is the most preferred platform for building e-commerce stores because it offers everything you need to start, manage, and grow your online business. However, without proper guidance, building a successful Shopify store is an intricate process even for developers. Whether you are launching a new online store or upgrading to Shopify, having a clear guide is important for a scalable and high-performing online presence.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to start a Shopify store with 10 simple steps and learn what role a Shopify Plus development agency can play to make the process even smoother. Let’s get started.
10 Easy Steps to Build Your Shopify Plus Store
Developers and Shopify Plus development agency follow these steps to build a successful online store:
Step 01: Create Your Shopify Account
Open the Shopify website and create an account by starting a 3-days free trial. This free trial is a good option to explore all of its features. Once you press the start free trial button, you need to provide the following information:
- Your email address
- Your store name
- Password for your account
After filling out this form, you are directed to the admin dashboard where you can manage products, customers, store design, and sales.
Step 02: Choose the Right Shopify Plan for Your Business
Once your trial period expires, you’ll get the option to select the Shopify plan for your store. The following options are available:
- Basic is recommended for startups
- Shopify is ideal for expanding businesses
- Advanced is best for scalability
- Shopify Plus is an enterprise-level solution
You should evaluate the needs of your store. If it’s high-level, you must go for Shopify Plus, and if it’s a startup, basic Shopify would be enough. You can change it later on. If you are still confused about choosing the right plan, compare Shopify vs Shopify Plus to understand which features meet your store’s needs.
Step-03: Select or Customize Your Theme
Shopify offers free and paid themes. It is highly important to match the look and feel of online stores with brands and products. In your dashboard, under ‘Sales Channels’, there is an option for ‘Online Store’, where you can find “Themes”. In themes, you click customize so:
- Change colors
- Insert logo
- Adjust layout
- Modify font
In case you need more advanced customization options, consulting with a Shopify Plus development agency would be a good decision. They can provide a more personalized experience to your customers by providing you with a unique look that will match your brand’s image.
Step 04: Add and Organize Your Products
Now it is time to add products. For each product, the following information is required:
- Title of the product
- Description
- Price
- Images
- Variants (size, color, material, flavor, capacity, etc.)
- Inventory information
Try to use ‘Collections’ in products to organize the product categories. Such as the use of Men’s sale, Women’s sale, Best-selling, new arrivals, etc. This will help users find products more easily.
Step 05: Enable Payment Options
Set payment gateways to get payment. Shopify makes it easy by supporting the following methods:
- Shopify Payments
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Apple Pay
- Manual payments (cash on delivery, credit, and debit card)
While selecting payment methods, keep your target audience in mind. You can also use different payment methods for different countries. Moreover, ensure to activate two-step authentication for your account and provide accurate bank details.
Step 06: Set Up Shipping and Tax Options
Now design how to ship and tax your products. For setting up shipping rates, go to ‘Shipping and Delivery’ and add a shipping rate. You can:
- Fix the rate
- Offer free shipping
- Add optional shipping (like weight-based, price-based, or location-based)
Provide the recent shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Plus, Shopify decides tax depending on the location, but still, you have the option to change the rules of taxation.
Step-07: Configure Your Domain
To make your store look professional, customize its domain. You have two options:
- Either buy a new domain through Shopify
- Or attach your already existing domain
Once you link to your store, it will be easily available through your domain. This is the essential step to gain customers’ trust and increase SEO ranking.
Step-08: Customize Store Settings
To smoothly run all the operations of your store, complete the following settings from the Shopify dashboard:
- Enter the store’s name, email, and contact details
- Store policies like refund, terms, and conditions
- Checkout process (guest, accounts)
- Notifications (emails or SMS)
These settings make sure that the store meets your customers’ expectations.
Step-09: Install Apps and Integrations
If you want to add more functions to your store, use Shopify app store’s built-in tools, including:
- Email marketing tools
- Reviews and ranking
- Live chat
- Upsell and cross-sell products
- Linking with social media
Shopify Plus users often demand modern integration tools. Be careful to add only the tools your store truly needs, as too many can slow down your website’s performance. You can get help from a Shopify Plus development agency to integrate the right and modern tools for your store.
Step 10: Test And Launch
Your store is ready to go live, but before making it live, check the following points:
- Checkout process
- Go through the product details
- Verify payment methods
- Examine shipping and tax options
Browse your store from the customer’s point of view, and make sure to place a testing order with the help of Shopify’s test mode. Fix any error that comes up and launch your website live after removing the password protection.
Consult a Shopify Plus Development Agency
Shopify provides a simple process and tools to build your store, despite the fact that expert guidance is recommended to build high-performing and scalable websites. You can hire a developer or partner with a trusted Shopify Plus development agency like Bizmia. These agencies ensure to provide:
- Build custom themes
- Rapid speed and mobile-friendly features
- Assemble custom apps and APIs
- Establish modern features like support for multi-currency and multi-language
- Make seamless migration from one platform to another, like WordPress to Shopify or Shopify Plus
The experts of these agencies work on your project and save time, cost, and effort.
Conclusion
Starting a Shopify store is simple when you use the right tools, guide, and strategy. By following this 10-step guide, you can build a fully featured store that looks professional. Every single step is essential, from creating an account to launching your website after testing. If you need expert guidance, get help from a Shopify Plus development agency. They promise to take care of every single step from adding advanced features and custom themes to integration with modern apps and APIs.
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